Media Matters has a nice look back at the "media's fawning coverage of Bush's premature declaration of victory in Iraq". Some exceptional quotes from Chris Matthews (May 1, 2003's edition of Hardball):
The President "won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics." Or try this: "The president there -- look at this guy! We're watching him. He looks like he flew the plane. He only flew it as a passenger, but... he didn't fight in a war, but he looks like he does." and "Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president."
Reality:
Dahr Jamail (May 10, 2006):
As bad as things are in Iraq today, it may come as a surprise to many people in the US, including many who never supported the illegal invasion and occupation to begin with, that Iraq has been a disaster from the first day of the invasion.
....
At one point during that presentation in Austin, I attempted in vain to describe to the audience what life in Baghdad is like. It was in vain, because how can anyone in the United States begin to imagine what it is like to be invaded, to have our infrastructure shattered, to have occupying soldiers photographing detained Americans in forced humiliating sexual acts and then to have these displayed on television, to have our churches raided and worshippers therein shot and killed by occupation troops?
It is only when more people in the US begin to fathom the totality of the destruction in Iraq that one may expect to hear the public outcry and uprising necessary to end the occupation and bring to justice the war criminals responsible for these conditions. Until that happens, make no mistake: all of us participate in a new Iraq, our hands dyed in the blood of innocents.
Ridiculous:
Faux News (April 30, 2006) says all's well in Iraq except the oil.
Dozens of firehouses and hundreds of police stations have been rebuilt in Iraq. Thousands of schools are fixed. Millions more Iraqis have access to cellular telephones.
But oil and gas production, which fuels Iraq's fragile economy, has yet to return to levels before the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 despite slight improvements in recent months.
The main reason: insurgent attacks on facilities.
Reality:
Democracy Now (April 25th, 2006):
Currently, 150 U.S. corporations have received $50 billion worth of contracts, as you said in the introduction, to utterly fail in reconstruction in Iraq, but the money has still been granted.
More on the War in Iraq, Media Issues
